For our first trip to Disneyland I read everything I could get my hands on. Back then, travel guides were the thing…I am showing my age. The popular guide had a “Dumbo in a Day or Die Touring Plan.” It gave a plan that would let you see everything in the park in one day with the best route and order of rides. It was efficient and effective and exhausting. We didn’t die, but we had sore feet and cranky kids by the end of the day.

It is so easy to get caught up in trying to do everything. You want to get your money’s worth and Disney is expensive. But you came to Disneyland to spend time with your family. Enjoy your family as well as Disneyland. Spend a little more for extras like a character meal or a table service restaurant. Families don’t get enough time to just be together.

Take a few minutes and take some pictures. The new PhotoPass allows everyone to be in the picture and the Disney photographers are great. They capture that hug with TinkerBell or when Tigger grabs mom’s head. They have the right filter and lighting and everyone is in the shot. Mom can relax and be part of the fun, rather than being missing from every picture.

Life is getting faster and faster and family time is less and less. For your next trip to the Happiest Place on Earth, relax and take the time to enjoy your family.

My mailbox is full of credit card offers and promises of 50,000 rewards for this or discounts for that. And I admit, I have multiple cards that I use for different reasons. I use one card for the travel points. I gave my kids a different card for emergencies. But my secret favorite is my Disney Visa.

I don’t put much on it, mainly my Disney trips. And I earn a few dollars a year as a reward, that I can then spend at Disneyland. But the main reason that I have the card is for the Cardmember-exclusive Character Experiences in Disneyland. I can’t tell you how many vacations we have taken and I am not in a single photo. But not anymore! I check the website before every trip, and then I drag my family to the Character Experi

ence.

Recently it was to meet Darth Vader in the Star Wars Launch Bay in Tomorrowland. I had a hard time smiling, because Darth Vader was so scary. And Cardmembers get to download all of the pictures for Free. Here is one of the pics that Hot Hubby and I took. Aren’t they fun!

Disneyland is introducing MaxPass on July 19, 2017. I am not sure whether to be happy or sad. The “introductory” price is $10, which means it will definitely go up soon.

Let’s go through the benefits and there are two:

First, you can download your Fast Passes directly to your phone. I think this is a HUGE benefit. You don’t have to go to the kiosk and you don’t have to keep track of those little bitty tickets. If it works as explained, you can just download them from where you are. So you leave Haunted Mansion and want to get Space Mountain tickets, BING! right on your phone. No more traipsing around the park and splitting up to get Fast passes on your way to another location.

On the other hand, I usually spend half my day walking back and forth across the park to get and use those Fast passes….do you think I won’t burn as many calories and I will have to eat less Disney food? That could be the only minus that I see.

The next benefit is a Disney PhotoPass. According to the Disney Website, “It was designed for Disney parks so that everyone in your group could be captured in photos. Rather than having that one person who holds the camera or mobile device missing from your entire trip history, he or she can now be seen! It’s a Disney miracle.” Now this would be great, except my children would rather die than take any pictures with me. I can remember when they were little and would smile and pose….then they grew up. I can imagine that for maybe one day the Photopass would be great. I could make Hot Hubby pose for some fun pictures.

The Disney PhotoPass gives you unlimited downloads of all of the pictures taken by the Disney Photographers. “Magic Shots are also included. Simply ask your Disney PhotoPass Photographer to pose you for a Magic Shot, and a select Disney Character or fun surprise will appear in your photo after it’s taken.” from the Disney website. These are the photos that you see on Facebook, where the family is holding Tinkerbell in their hand, or other special effects.

For a great explanation of how the new MaxPass works and how to use the app, UnderCover Tourist has a great explanation on their website: UnderCover Tourist

We are heading to Disneyland in 2 weeks, and I know we will purchase MaxPass at least one day of the trip. I will keep you posted about how it worked.